All indications are that there is not going to be any let up in Somaliland government’s determination to dispossess its citizens of their most basic rights. We all know the sequence: the jailing of Haatuf reporters, the imprisonment of Qaran leaders, and the president’s lies to the mediation committee that was composed of some of Somaliland’s most respected individuals. In each of these instances, the government has shown its disregard not only for the constraints imposed by traditional Somali codes of conduct but also to Somaliland’s laws.

In the last couple of weeks, the government added two more items to the rapidly expanding list of abuse heaped on citizens as well as foreign guests: the expulsion of a UN human rights specialist and the takeover of Shuro Net the biggest civil society organization in the country. This week, the government completed its takeover of Shuro Net when the deputy commander of Somaliland Police, Muhamed Shil Dhidar, forced the board of Shuro Net to hand-over to him their office keys.

Although the ferocity and determination of the government in its pursuit of its goals may have come as a surprise to some people, no one should be surprised by the government’s goal of imposing an autocracy on Somaliland, for the signs have been there for quite some time. Anyone who has difficulty reading these signs should look up the minister of interior’s promise to jail many more Qaran supporters. If that won’t do it, then they could check out Mr Tallabo’s statement that Qaran leaders deserve to be shot. If the picture is still not clear, then perhaps they should re-visit Mr Rayale’s lies to the mediation committee.

Taken together, these incidents paint a picture of a government that wants to muzzle the independent voices that could stand on the way of its scheme to impose an autocracy on the country. The question of how far will the government go in trampling on the rights of the citizens is already settled, and the answer is: too far. The remaining question is: are Somalilanders going to watch their government dispossess them of their rights or not